Damien High School

We are saddened to report the tragic news that Mrs. Paula Smith, teacher of English and Theology at Damien since 2001, passed away suddenly on the morning of January 10. Her dedication to her students and her love of teaching was an inspiration to her colleagues on the Damien faculty, and benefited hundreds of students over the course of her career.

She is survived by her sons, Peter (Damien Class of 1996) and Matthew (Damien Class of 2006), and her daughter-in-law Ashley.

Funeral services will be held at Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church on Thursday January 17th at 4:00 pm. A reception will follow in the Activity Center at Damien High School.

Paula’s family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Damien High School. All donations will fund the Paula Smith Memorial Scholarship.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE PAULA SMITH MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND

If you have any personal stories or experiences you'd like to share about Paula please send them to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it We plan on posting some of them on the website. Thank you

Mrs. Smith was my 4th grade teacher at St. Dorothy's. She was like a mother to me. She was an amazing teacher and person. She was by far the best teacher I have ever had.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Peter and Matthew. Katie Grattan Wold

Ms Smith taught my daughters at St Dorothy's during the years 1984/1987... A true educator who believed in her students and always made her class interesting.  Thank you for your dedication to my children..Helen Munez  .. Mother of Laura and Veronica Munez

I will greatly miss Ms.Smith. I had the honor of being one of her current pupils and a student of hers for 2 1/2 years until the unexpected loss. She was an amazing teacher that always went above and beyond for her students. Her classes were always well organized and filled with objectives and assignments to sharpen our learning minds.
I can quote Ms.Smith perfectly when students would be defiant."Gentlemen, I am doing this for your benefit, I can come up with more written work if there is no cooperation on your part."  Ms.Smith never assigned the work but mainly said that to get our attention and to focus on the task at hand. She always did things for the benefit of her students and absolutely loved her profession. Ms.Smith was a great mentor and I will greatly miss her.                          -Francisco Martinez

I wish to reiterate Francisco Martinez in his tribute to Mrs. Paula Smith. She was dedicated to her students, the school, and especially her sons. By the way, she considered all of them to be her boys. What a nice legacy. More students need to appreciate the teachers they have and realize we only have their best interests at heart. We don't always see eye to eye, but guess what? That's life!  Finding common ground and learning to cooperate with one another is the solution to achieving harmony. I believe Mrs. Smith worked at instilling that in her students. God Bless her.    ~Brad Hallock

I had the honor of teaching with Paula at St. Dorothy's School.  I had the even greater honor of having her as one of my very best friends for the last 24 years.  I will miss you, my friend, and all the wonderful times and laughs we shared.  You were an amazing teacher, friend, and role model to everyone who knew you.  Rest in peace.  We love you.  ~Judi & George Luebke

Paula had a huge heart--the following is only a small example of Paula's magnanimity and generousity.  
The Little Green Box 
My forays into the faculty lounge are generally chaotic and harried.  I rush to  prepare copies for the day; my whirlwind entrance into the copy room is greeted mostly with sighs and moans--"not Le Duc again".  Without a doubt I never seem to  have enough time.  Don't we all feel the same?  How often do we  all struggle with a machine that refuses to deliver the desired documents quickly and efficiently and without mechanical failure.  And this one particular morning, Paula  had the remedy of many mornings of mishap. 
 
Paula--she made my life easier.  Without a doubt I would  skim through my hard copy and invariably there wold be  a needed correction.  Would I have  White-out?  Or course not.  But there was Paula's little green box--my saviour.  Paula kept this little green plastic box tucked in the corner of her mailbox.  And one harried day, just short of a teary melt-down( or at least an  enraged rant)  I needed saving and Paula saved me.  As I grumbled about anouther trip back to the classroom for white-out, Paula clicked open the snap of that  little green box and handed me the white-out.   With the  simple gesture , Paula said:  "Anytime you need white-out, feel free to use mine."    It wasn't the first time that liltle green box would hurry me on my day.  Inside this little box are treasures of Paula's heart- white-out, tape, a pen, a pencil, an eraser and sometimes a dollar.  She offered them freely -- "just open the box".  This was Paula's heart--she opened it freely and shared.   It is often the  details that make a differnce.  Paula  made a difference..  I treasure the little green box, because it holds the memory of the treasure of Paula.  ~Lisa Le Duc